Test

Christopher Columbus lands in present day Bahamas

Oct 12, 1492

A Genovese man sailing under the Spanish flag lands among an archipelago later to become the Bahamas, believing at first that he had successfully proven the planet to be significantly smaller than it is and that he had found the West Indies. This contact marks the beginning of the Columbian Exchange, a process through which specie are transferred between Afro-Eurasia and the Americas.

Treaty of Tordesillas divides New World between Spain and Portugal

Jun 7, 1494

In an effort to avoid war between Catholic states and a crisis of papal allegiance, Pope Alexander VI brokered an agreement between Spain and Portugal to split any claims to new lands and/or new trade hemispherically between the two.

John Cabot lands in Newfoundland

Jun 24, 1497

John Cabot was an Italian navigator and explorer. His 1497 voyage to the coast of North America under the commission of Henry VII, King of England is the earliest known European exploration of coastal North America since the Norse visits to Vinland in the eleventh century.

Waldseemüller Map published in Germany

Apr 1, 1507

A new and complete map of the world, as it had been discovered and was understood to be at its time. This map showed for the first time the "American" continent recognized as something separate from Asia. The cartographer (Martin Waldseemüller) chose to name the new lands after Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci for his contributions to exploring the coastlines.

Henry VIII begins reign as King of England

Apr 21, 1509

Henry VIII's reign (1509-47) is usually remembered for the King's six wives and his legendary appetite. Infamously, he sent two of his wives, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, to their deaths on the executioner's block at the Tower of London.

First exploration of La Florida by Juan Ponce de Leon

Period: Mar 4, 1513 to Feb 20, 1514

Juan Ponce de León was a Spanish explorer and conquistador known for leading the first official European expedition to Florida and serving as the first governor of Puerto Rico. He was born in Santervás de Campos, Valladolid, Spain in 1474. Though little is known about his family, he was of noble birth and served in the Spanish military from a young age. He first came to the Americas as a "gentleman volunteer" with Christopher Columbus's second expedition in 1493.

Charles I begins reign as King of Spain

Mar 14, 1516

By July of 1519, he becomes Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor; King of Italy, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria

Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses on a church door in Wittenberg

Oct 31, 1517

The Ninety-five Theses or Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences is a list of propositions for an academic disputation written in 1517 by Martin Luther, then a professor of moral theology at the University of Wittenberg, Germany.

Hernan Cortez conquers Aztec Empire in Mexico's central valley

Period: 1519 to 1526

Spanish Conquistadors arrived in Mexico seeking gold and silver, and quickly come into conflict with the Aztec who dominated the region. Using germ-warfare and with a coalition of rival tribes, Hernan Cortez is able to destroy and pillage the Aztec after a lengthy campaign.

Circumnavigation of the globe by the crew of Ferdinand Magellan

Period: Sep 20, 1519 to Sep 6, 1522

Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer best known for having planned and led the 1519–22 Spanish expedition to the East Indies, which achieved the first circumnavigation of Earth in history.